Artunderwraps

Annotated Reference Guide to Collectible Books

Alexander Calder Annotated Bibliography & Selected Collectible Books

Anti-Gravity: Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder had perhaps an unconventional career, even for an artist of world-renown, seeing as he only came to his profession later than many other of his contemporaries. Calder's first vocation, which perhaps shows in his enduring fascination with metal sculpture, was that of a mechanical engineer.

Born on the turn of the twentieth century, Alexander Calder was the product of other fine artists, his mother a portrait painter and his grandfather a sculptor who had moved to America from Scotland. In his mid-twenties, Alexander Calder decided to dedicate his life to art, developing a fascination for mobile circuses (that could fit in a suitcase) as well as metal and found-object mobiles. Today his gravity-defying sculptures are cherished by his adopted country of France, and can be found throughout private and national collections.

Alexander Calder maintained an interest in printmaking, printing and lithography throughout his career using his illustrative skills to support his more conceptual sculptures. Soon his goache, lithographic and etchings also took on a surrealistic oeuvre, and now are considered some of his best works.

When collecting Calder, it is possible to purchase lithographic prints for as little as a few hundred dollars, but the dedicated collector will be interested in the range of his more limited edition works. In such a case, consider his early illustrative efforts, such as Aesops Fables, or Three Blind Mice - which can still be found in the region of a couple thousand dollars. Otherwise, the essential catalogue for Alexander Calder's work would be found in the famous Derriere Le Miroir, the Maeght Edition's ongoing catalogue of artistic reviews and prints. A special edition of Le Miroir which is signed by Calder could cost as little as a thousand dollars, and unsigned edition (with as many as 24 lithographic prints of the artist) could cost as little as a few hundred dollars.